APRA AMCOS has just announced the nominations for this year’s Art Music Awards and the Bangalow Music Festival is a finalist in the category – Award for Excellence in a Regional Area.
APRA AMCOS and the Australian Music Centre say that without question, this year’s Awards have the most vibrant and surprising line-up of shortlisted artists, works and performances in the history of the Awards.
The Art Music Awards is an annual event celebrating achievements in the fields of composition, performance, education and presentation of Australian art music.
As with many events and festivals, this year’s Awards are streaming as a virtual event, premiering on APRA AMCOS’ YouTube channel.
A record 278 nominations were received across 13 national categories, despite the pandemic locking states down just as the entries were about to close. It is the works and artists within the categories and on the shortlists, however, that reveal the sheer breadth of expression and creative vision in the art music community today.
Award for Excellence in a Regional Area
In the Award for Excellence in a Regional Area, the Bangalow Music Festival was nominated for its 2019 event alongside Gillian Howell and Tura New Music for the Fitzroy Valley New Music Project; Netanela Mizrahi and Guwanbal Gurruwiwi for the Djari Project; and, Rae Howell for Bee-Sharp Honeybee.
BMF and Southern Cross Soloists Artistic Director Tania Frazer said the Southern Cross Soloists are very excited about the nomination. ‘We are so honoured to have received this nomination for the APRA AMCOS Art Music Awards for the 2019 Bangalow Music Festival, particularly as we are not able to hold it this year due to the coronavirus.
‘2019 marked our 18th consecutive festival in Bangalow, which has grown into one of Australia’s most acclaimed classical music festivals, that each year showcases a glittering array of soloists from both Australia and abroad.’
Bangalow festival has grown from strength to strength
Ms Frazer said, ‘The festival has grown from strength to strength due to the close relationship between Southern Cross Soloists and the people of Bangalow and its surrounds, including Rebecca Zentveld’s from Zentveld’s Coffee Plantation, Mary O’Connor from Bangalow Real Estate, John and Carol Griffiths from ADFAS Byron Bay, Grant Rasheed from Ninbella Gallery and Wendy Cohen and the lovely ladies of the Bangalow CWA as well as many, many more wonderful supporters.
‘This award honours both the festival and the 2019 program as well as all the amazing community support for Southern Cross Soloists to present the festival each August in this gorgeous township.’
Ms Frazer said organisers would have been prepping now for this year’s event. ‘We are so disappointed that this year’s festival was unable to go ahead – it should have been this weekend – but we are looking forward to our 2021 festival, which will be August 12-15, 2021.’
Included in the awards are nominations for the Work of the Year – Choral; The Work of the Year – Jazz; the Work of the Year – Dramatic the Work of the Year – Chamber Music; a new category Work of the Year – Electroacoustic/Sound Art as well as Performance of the Year Jazz – Improvised Music; Performance of the Year – Notated Composition; the Award for Excellence in Music Education the Excellence in Regional Area; Excellence in Experimental Music; and, The Richard Gill Award for Distinguished Services to Australian Music, as determined by the APRA Board of Directors
The 2020 Art Music Awards will be held on Tuesday, September 8, from 7pm AEST – find the YouTube Premiere at youtube.com/apraamcos.
